Review by some_empty_friend

If there ever were a film to hop around aimlessly from one plot point to another, "With Your Permission" is it. One should be aware that the film's tagline becomes obsolete within forty minutes of the film. After that, it's impossible to tell where the story trails off to, and more importantly why. The "where" is merely unsatisfactory. And the "why" is never answered.

What results is a series of plot lines strung around our anti-hero, Jan, and his unpredictable wife, Brente. Each plot line carries little depth; the crust of the story is baked, but there's a nice gooey middle. Characters are introduced without purpose. When the last shot cuts to the final credits, I couldn't help but wonder what I watched; what was the purpose of the film, the point, the thesis? Why did I spend 95 minutes watching a film that was supposed to be about a man who is beaten by his wife and maybe for once he'd do something about it, when in fact, that is only a small part of the story?

The one merit of this film is its execution. It was well-done, well-acted, and it looked great. Nothing too fancy with the camera, but the story didn't call for it. And though I don't speak Swedish, it still succeeded in being a humorous film.

The main fault is a weak script. There's just not much to it, but there's plenty potential for a story that could've transcended what it is.